A Note from Pastor Bruce - September 3, 2026
Dear Church Family:
Psalm 32 is one of my favorite Psalms. This Psalm of David begins with a personal testimony to the depth of human need and the height of joy that comes from experiencing the life-changing power of God’s redeeming mercy. It begins:
Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. (32:1-2 NRSV)
To know the forgiving mercies of the Lord is to have our spirits set free from the guilt and shame of sin so that we may live happily for God and others. But it wasn’t always that way for the psalmist:
While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
Day and night your hand was heavy on me;
My strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. (vs. 3-4)
This pilgrim who now rejoices in God’s liberating forgiveness still remembers vividly his former life tormented by the silent anguish of sin and guilt. You can almost hear the spiritual and even physical groaning that plagued him while he labored to hide his misery from God and others. What changed?
Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the guilt of my sin. (vs.5-6)
By openly confessing his sin and need for forgiveness, David found freedom from his tortured past. A new life began in him, full of joy, thanksgiving, and confidence:
Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you;
At a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them. (vs.6)
God whose hand had previously seemed to crush him, now became his constant source of life:
You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with glad cries of deliverance. (vs.7)
I love Psalm 32 because it speaks the truth about things I would rather ignore or forget—my need to confess my sin and seek God’s mercy, not once only but as a way of life. Psalm 32 speaks my truth. For that reason, I memorized this Psalm years ago and I recite it once a week so that I will never forget how easy it is to deceive myself by “keeping silence” about my temptations, sins and needs, and so I will pursue the happy life that is built on the foundation of God’s forgiveness and redemption.
So where are we to find such a “safe space” to speak of our needs and find God’s help?
Some of us might react quickly: My sins and temptations are between me and God. The not-so-subtle message is: My relationship with God is a private affair, nobody’s business but mine. But beneath this defensiveness is an underlying fear rooted in self-deception. The self-deception is that our life with God is merely personal and private. But there is nothing in the Bible to suggest that. In fact, the opposite is true. The Church is not a collaboration of like-minded individuals. It is the Body of Christ, each member bound together in Christ’s love and identity. When we lose sight of this, we become fearful that our private unholiness and guilt might be found out. We doubt that such love is truly possible. Was this why the psalmist was “wasting away” inside for a time because he was afraid to admit to himself or to others his failures and needs? No wonder that the longer he suffered alone, God seemed more like a crushing stone than a safe hiding place.
James 5:16 says, “Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” 1 John 1:21 adds, “If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.” To be part of the Body of Christ is to discover that Jesus our advocate who forgives our sins often chooses to work through his Body, the church, to administer the grace of forgiveness and new life. Every time we come to the Lord’s Supper, we first confess our sins and hear the Words of Pardon and Assurance. Catholics prepare themselves by confessing their sins to a priest, but Protestants sometimes forget or neglect our need to have a safe place to admit the truth about us, and to find our joy renewed in the forgiveness of sins.
In a matter of minutes, I will join my longtime brothers in Christ, Michael and Robert, in a Zoom “Covenant Discipleship” meeting where we will, among other things, confess our sins to one another. We have met every week for 16 years, and I am a less self-deceived and fearful Christian as a result. In a confidential fellowship of love, these brothers in Christ help me to keep on the disciple’s path and assure me that I am never alone. I do the same for them. Our fellowship is founded on the mercies of Christ, as we aim to become more like Christ by the Holy Spirit at work in us. Our group of accountable discipleship has become indispensable to my growth as Jesus’ disciple and my service to his Kingdom. Every week I am remined that I am never without a place to take my struggles and to celebrate my joys. It is hard to even imagine my life in Christ without my brothers in faith and grace.
From the beginning of the Methodist revival, John Wesley insisted that every Methodist Christian was to be in a small group, a “Class Meeting” that served the same purpose as we see in the Psalmist, echoed in James, and that I now experience in my covenant group. The essential and repeated question was/is: “How is it with your soul?” Or “How is your relationship with God and others?” In the safe and intimate fellowship of Christ’s love empowered by the Spirit and administered by faithful brothers and sisters in Christ, each believer was reassured in the grace of forgiveness that is the foundation of growth in holy love, the aim of our life in Christ. In those Class Meetings, over time the love of Christ was embodied and enslaved sinners were turned into liberated and joyful saints. For those who really wanted to make progress in Christian life, they joined a Band Meeting where the only topic of conversation was/is about sin, forgiveness, and assurance so that each person might live more freely from everything that impedes the life of love.
In our day, even many Christians find it frightening to think of confessing our needs and sins to one another. The world has taught us its own lie, that God is big and bad, and that no one is to be trusted with the worst parts of me. So we groan in spirit and sometimes in body in agonizing silence while the risen Lord Jesus offers us the grace of forgiveness and growth in grace. Fortunately, some Methodist Christians, weary of the inner battle, are today rediscovering the liberating joy of God’s mercy and love embodied in a deeper Christian fellowship. I believe it is part of the new thing God is doing among “the people called Methodist.”
This Sunday, there will be a sign-up sheet in the narthex for “Friends in Christ” groups. This is a modern adaptation of the Wesleyan Class Meetings. Those who sign up are not committing themselves to become part of a group, only to meet with other believers to find out more and to ask your questions. I will provide the materials and talk with you about how these groups function and why you may want to consider becoming part of a group. Such a group has changed my life for the better. Might it do the same for you?
Even as we strive at Pender to strengthen our outward witness as Jesus’ disciples, we must be connected to our constant source of inward strength as well. The outward journey of mission must be supported by the inward journey of discipleship. In both cases, we are not to go it alone, but to support one another in love. If you are curious about a deeper friendship in Christ, I encourage you to sign up to be part of an important conversation. If you are not present in worship, you can contact the church office or me directly to find out more (434-610-1115).
Pastor Bruce
From the September 3, 2026 edition of This Week at Pender newsletter
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